Featuring: Captain America Release: February 10, 1941 Cover: April 1941 10 cents By: Joe Simon and Jack Kirby 15 pages
This comic was released on my birthday, just 40 years early.
Our buildup to Avengers #4 continues.
Once again, the cover of the comic shows Captain America directly confronting Hitler, this time without the satisfying sock to the jaw. The interior of the first issue disappointed, as Captain America and Hitler did not actually meet. This issue will rectify that, but not with this story. We’ll see Hitler in the next post, concerning “Case No. 2”.
The title of the story alone–“The Ageless Orientals Who Wouldn’t Die”– tells you that this comic is probably extremely inappropriate, and it is. Popular culture depictions of Asian characters were problematic for decades. This comic at least only features giants, not meant to represent actual people.
Iron Man is Born! Featuring: Iron Man Release: December 10, 1962 Cover: March 1963 12 cents Plot: Stan Lee Script: Larry Lieber Art: Don Heck 13 pages
I read this story in Invincible Iron Man Omnibus vol. 1.
Don Heck is the artist on this issue, but the cover is by Jack Kirby. The cover was drawn first, and Jack Kirby is thus responsible for designing this version of the Iron Man armor. Heck claims credit for the look of Anthony Stark and generally the interiors. I’ve read conflicting reports on how much input Kirby had to the interior art and storytelling.
Recall that Kirby had been drawing every ongoing Marvel superhero series prior to this month. One week earlier, Don Heck took over as artist on the Ant-Man feature, and now Heck will also be the artist on the Iron Man stories. And a new Marvel superhero title premieres this same day which will be drawn by Steve Ditko, so the load is getting shared now.
That’s right! It’s Iron Man! The character nobody had heard of in 2007 who was everybody’s favorite superhero by 2009.
As we discussed, December 10, 1962 is a day with four big milestones in Marvel superhero history. This is the second.
Milestone #1 of December 10, 1962: Fantastic Four meet the Hulk!
Milestone #2: Iron Man
Anthony Stark is a rich, handsome, glamorous playboy, a bachelor and socialite. Also a brilliant scientist helping out the US military. He’s invented a tiny transistor that increases the force of any device, which he’s helping the military deploy in South Vietnam.
As I understand the problem in Vietnam, it will take more than a tiny transistor to solve…
Wong-Chu is described as a “Red Guerilla” conquering villages is South Vietnam. I assume the implication is he is with the Việt Cộng, but that is not explicit.
The depictions of Asian people remain awful, with Wong-Chu as racist a caricature as General Fang.
The Incredible Hulk vs The Hordes of General Fang! Featuring: Hulk Release: November 1, 1962 Cover: January 1963 12 cents Script: Stan Lee Art: Jack Kirby Inking: Dick Ayers 11 pages
I read this story in Incredible Hulk Omnibus vol. 1.
There are ways in which Stan and Jack are ahead of their time on social issues, and ways in which they are not. Their depictions of Asian people remain pretty racist. It will take a couple decades before Marvel is able to do much better. General Fang is an awful stereotype, and the story is more cold war propaganda, depicting the forces of Red China as strangely-drawn, yellow-skinned, and cartoonishly evil. Even the Asian people depicted as allies–including the citizens of Llhasa (Lhasa, Tibet) and the soldiers of Formosa (Taiwan)– have cringeworthy depictions.
